Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
April 3
Christian Holt, 18, Centerpoint — resisting, escape, felony flight, illegal handling machine guns, illegal possession stolen firearm 2 counts, theft of firearms 2 counts, illegal carrying dangerous weapons 3 counts, criminal conspiracy 2 counts, burglary 4 counts, $91,500 bail.
Opinion/By AMY HAYES/Contributor to the Journal
An exhibit of Kim Mulkey’s 2023 National Championship season at LSU hangs in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum in Natchitoches. Rightfully so, considering Natchitoches is the small town where the movie Steel Magnolias was filmed.
Kim Mulkey is a steel magnolia personified.
If you have never seen the movie or play, then you may not know what that means. In Natchitoches, the term is understood as part of the local vernacular. A metaphor for the contrasting imagery associated with a tough metal and a delicate flower.
A steel magnolia is thought of as an independent woman who faces adversity with strength and dignity. Just like the sturdy steel frame of a fragile magnolia tree.
When you watch Mulkey on the sidelines of a game or listen to her speak in a post-game presser or radio interview, you know that she embodies a combination of toughness yet kindness.
She loves basketball, she loves winning, but most of all she loves her players and her family. Her players are her family, and she states that often. She is a doting mother and grandmother, but also a devoted coach to young, impressionable athletes.
Society wants us to believe that women can’t be both strong and gentle at the same time. But in the South that is the way women are raised. We are taught to fight like hell for what we believe in. We are taught to be compassionate and tender-hearted. And we can be both of those things at the same time.
In a world where women should be equal to men in all areas. That is most certainly not true when it comes to sports. Women have been marginalized spectators watching as men have made millions of dollars and achieved celebrity status as professional athletes.
Mulkey is still the same person she’s always been but since taking the head coaching job at LSU, opportunities have started to change. She gives her players the freedom to be themselves and they have excelled at becoming entrepreneurs in the new world of NIL. Together they have helped to elevate the game of women’s basketball to a level that could never have been dreamed of even a few years ago.
According to ESPN, 12.3 million people watched the Elite 8 game on Monday night between LSU and Iowa. It was the most watched college basketball game ever on ESPN platforms.
Ironically, this broke the previous ratings record for women’s basketball of 11.84 million in 1983 when USC beat Mulkey’s Louisiana Tech team in the NCAA Championship.
Despite such success and progress, the media have critiqued her every move. Talked about her clothing choices, dug up her family history, nitpicked her coaching, made assumptions about her political and personal beliefs, criticized her personality, and now, even questioned her allegiance to the American flag.
Mulkey can withstand the millions of daggers that are thrown at her because her armor is made of steel. She had to overcome obstacles at a young age in the male-dominated world of sports and continues to have to defend herself and her female players nearly 60 years later.
Our only hope should be that she can pass the strength and resolve that she embodies onto her young players.
The relentless media seems to have taken a Clairee (Olympia Dukakis) line out of the movie to heart, “If you can’t say anything nice about anybody, come sit by me.”
But as any true Steel Magnolia would say, “Bless their hearts.”
Contact Amy at AmyHaysJSLLC@gmail.com.
By JIM BUTLER
Six tax propositions are on the April 27 general election ballot in various parts of Rapides Parish.
To be decided by what can safely be forecast as light turnout are:
Big Island School District 50 – 10-year renewal of 6.36 mills for general operations. First-year yield estimated at $277,160; Pineville School
District 52 – 10-year renewal of 7.41 mills, half for general operations and half for tech equipment, programs and enhancements. First-year yield estimated at $685,900.
The annual yield from the two propositions of about one mill’s difference points out the difference in property tax base from district to district.
Town of Ball – A new, 20-year 5-mill levy for Fire Department support, including portion to retirement system funding. First-year yield estimated at $104,565.
Town of Cheneyville – A new, 10-year 1.25% sales tax for recreational park improvements and additions, capital improvement projects, water and sewage system improve and police and fire protection services. Estimated first-year yield is $312,500.
Fire District 12 (Cheneyville area) – A new, 10-year 14.96-mill tax, replacing an existing 11.86-mill levy. Requested to fund facilities, equipment and operating costs, including that of obtaining water for fire protection purposes. Estimated first-year yield is $348,723.
Road District 1A – 10-year renewal of 25.93 mills to construct, maintain and keep in repair roads, highways and bridges. Estimated first-year yield is $544,600.
By LEIGH FLYNN DOTY
The things we do and the choices we make when we are young definitely have an impact on our future paths. And when you find your passion in life early on, it seems like all of the rest takes care of itself.
When Michelle Queen enrolled in an “adult responsibility” class as a senior at ASH in 1991, she did not know just how far that path would lead. Now, 33 years later, she has been recognized as one of the top early childhood leaders in the state.
Queen, director of Bright Beginnings in Alexandria, is one of five finalists for the Early Childhood Leader of the Year for the Louisiana Department of Education. She has another interview in mid-April, and the winner will be announced at a gala in late July.
“This has definitely already been an honor,” she said. “Reading the amazing comments in the nomination letters and watching the children’s videos has been such a gratifying and humbling experience.”
In her nomination letter, Cindy Rushing, Rapides Parish’s director of Early Childhood/Headstart, said Queen builds “positive relationships with all that are part of her learning center through trust and a commitment to provide the best learning environment for the children in her care.”
Queen, who began working at the center in the summer after high school, says she never questioned whether she was where she was intended to be. She worked part-time at the facility while attending college. Then, in April of 1995, the childcare center was available for purchase, and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Arnold, bought it for her to operate.
While some may have questioned whether a 21-year-old had the skills and experience to run the facility, Queen said she never had a doubt. She said her family’s philosophy of fixing situations as they arise combined with treating others as you would want to be treated has been successful. “Because of these two strongly instilled values, I am able to run a successful business with compassion, care, fairness, kindness, and, most of all, love for each of my families and staff members.”
She said she and her staff work hard to ensure that each of the children in their care, as well as their families, feel loved and cared for as part of the Bright Beginnings family. As such, she has very little turnover among her staff, some of whom have been with her for more than 25 years. “We really are one big family,” she said.
Queen was up for the nomination last year, but she declined because of family health issues. Now, she is able to enjoy the nomination and the gala surrounded by all of her family.
As director of the center, Queen says her focus is on providing an atmosphere that encourages social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth and development for all of the 110 children. The center routinely celebrates holidays and does other activities throughout the year to encourage that growth and development.
They also coordinate and participate in community efforts, including working with other child care centers to fill more than 200 backpacks with essential items for local schools, donating items to the Central Louisiana Homeless Coalition, and organizing food drives and other efforts for families in need.
“I believe Mrs. Queen’s greatest asset is to do whatever it takes to run a successful early learning program and provide a quality early learning experience for her children and their families,” Rushing said. “Her generous spirit is one of humble servanthood to give back to her community and create excellence in the work she does every day!”
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
March 29
Tracy Edwards, 51, Elmer — OWI 1st, 1:27 am, $1,000 bail;
Debra Perry, 69, Alexandria — OWI 1st, wrong way on one-way, 1:30 am, $1,100 bail;
Jacob Samples, 30, Pineville — OWI 1st, violation protective order, speeding, careless operation, battery on dating partner, filing false report, unauthorized entry inhabited dwelling, contempt, 4:46 pm, $18,700 bail.
March 30
Kenneth Barfield Sr., 57, Alexandria — OWI 1st, 10:15 pm, $1,000 bail.
March 31
James Hurley, 46, Fort Johnson — OWI 1st, reckless operation, tint violation, 12:24 pm, $1,600 bail;
Cameron Sampson, 23, Pineville — OWI 1st, speeding, contempt, 3:10 am, $2,600 bail;
Jordan Woodland, 31, Alexandria — OWI 1st, open container, 2:42 am, $1,100 bail.
April 1
Eric Pope, 45, Alexandria — OWI 1st, improper lane usage, 7:51 pm, $1,100 bail.
Arrests are accusations, not arrests.
April 3
Malcolm Ford, 27, Alexandria — aggravated arson 7 counts, domestic abuse/aggravated assault/child endangerment, contempt, $44,000 bail;
Alyssa Varra, 25, Alexandria — child desertion, resisting 2 counts, disturbing peace loud/abusive, $1,500 bail.
This date: 21 arrests, 5 of which included one or more contempt accounts.
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
April 3
Sean Bennett, 34, Alexandria — possession, paraphernalia, probation violation, contempt 2 counts, $23,000 bail;
Trenton Juneau, 27, Pineville — possession 3 counts, paraphernalia, $2,500 bail;
Donald Rue, 39, Alexandria — possession, $1,000 bail;
Joshua Vincent, 31, Pineville — possession, fugitive, $2,500 bail;
Heath Webb, 48, Glenmora — possession 2 counts, paraphernalia, $4,500 bail.
By JIM BUTLER
To use a phrase common to the season, the ball is now in Mayor Jacques Roy’s court.
The City Council on Tuesday passed and sent to the mayor an ordinance re-revising boundaries of council districts 2, 3 and 4.
At no point during the acrimony surrounding the lead up to the vote did the administration publicly weigh in, maybe the only interest that didn’t.
Up to the final vote Tuesday the proposal evoked bitter opposition while support on the council appeared rock solid at 4 yea, 3 nay.
At one point during that portion of the meeting that was public only because there was direct video feed, a procedural vote shifted the other way.
District 4 member Lizzie Felter, whose intentions with the change are the meat of the coconut, voted with the three steadfast opponents not to curb public comment.
Council president Jim Villard had ruled that anyone commenting at a contentious public hearing last week had had their allowable three minutes and would not be afforded another opportunity.
His ruling came after being legally advised it was proper, though allowing repeat speaking would also be permissible.
After all comment was said and done when the council returned to mixed company, and nothing new was actually said, the 4-3 held.
The ordinance now goes from the city clerk to Roy, by Friday under home rule charter provisions.
Roy has up to eight business days to return it to the clerk – with or without his approval, or with veto along with his written veto message.
Should the first two occur, the ordinance becomes part of the city code.
Should the third occur, the council must address it at its next regular meeting after receipt.
Override requires 2/3 vote of all members. Under Robert’s Rules, 2/3 of the 7 members would require 5 to override.
There’s as much chance of that as there is Biden and Trump lunching together.
By LAMAR GAFFORD, Written for the LSWA
Lafayette Christian, George Washington Carver and Peabody know a thing or two about getting to the LHSAA state tournament and winning basketball championships.
Naturally, members of all three schools were chosen as major winners on the Louisiana Sports Writers Writers Association’s Class 4A All-State basketball teams as selected by reporters across the state.
Longtime Peabody coach Charles Smith received state 4A boys Coach of the Year honors, while Carver junior Daijon Leatherman picked up the Outstanding Player award.
Smith won his ninth state championship as the Warhorses’ head coach by guiding them to a 28-5 record and the Division II Select title. A finalist this season for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame – whose Class of 2024 will be unveiled Saturday evening at halftime of the first game in the NCAA Final Four — Smith has 1,208 career wins, making him the fourth coach in the nation to win over 1,200 games.
The Warhorses’ top player, senior forward Jordan Mathews, was a first-team All-State selection with his 16.3 scoring average. Junior guard Rashad Mitchell made the second team with an 11.3 scoring average and impressive court savvy. Teammate Justin Burns was an honorable mention choice.
Leatherman nearly led the Rams to their third straight title but was stopped despite a dominant performance against Smith’s Warhorses with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks during their semifinal tilt. That concluded a season where he averaged 18.6 points, 17.1 rebounds and 5.2 blocks, while shooting 70 percent from the field.
On the girls side, LCA swept the major awards as Errol Rogers picked up Coach of the Year and Jada Richard earned Outstanding Player.
The Tioga tandem of Christina Lambert and Madison Lockwood earned honorable mention status.
In Class 5A, Pineville postman Javonte Thomas was a second-team All-State pick after helping the Rebels to the state semifinals with his 13.0 scoring average.
ASH had a pair of honorable mention selections.
The Trojans were represented by Jaylin Johnson while Thamerin Balthazar made the HM list for the Lady Trojans.
2024 LSWA CLASS 4A ALL-STATE BASKETBALL CHARTS
BOYS
First team
Player School Ht. Cl Avg.
Daijon Leatherman Carver 6-9 Jr. 18.6
Jordan Mathews Peabody 6-5 Sr. 16.3
Michael Mouton St. Thomas More 6-4 Sr. 16.6
Drew Timmons Archbishop Hannan 6-6 Jr. 22.4
Kameron Williams Lafayette Christian 6-7 Sr. 22.0
Second team
Player School Ht. Cl Avg.
Oren Bowens McMain 6-4 Sr. 26.7
Christian Creppel Archbishop Shaw 6-5 Sr. 16.5
Javon Johnson Bossier 6-1 Sr. 20.2
Jordan Matthews Vandebilt Catholic 5-10 Jr. 17.0
Rashad Mitchell Peabody 6-0 Jr. 11.3
OUTSTANDING PLAYER: DAIJON LEATHERMAN, CARVER
COACH OF THE YEAR: CHARLES SMITH, PEABODY
Honorable mention — Justin Burns, Peabody.
GIRLS
First team
Player School Ht. Cl Avg.
Eve Alexander Lafayette Christian 6-0 Sr. 13.7
Makayla Charles Vandebilt Catholic 5-8 Jr. 18.4
Kyndal Graham Huntington 5-5 Jr. 16.7
Kylei Leblanc LaGrange 5-10 Sr. 20.0
Jada Richard Lafayette Christian 5-6 Sr. 23.0
Second team
Player School Ht. Cl Avg.
Eryn Brown Istrouma 5-7 So. 31.7
Emilee Duet St. Scholastica 5-5 Jr. 16.5
Carley Hamilton Huntington 5-7 Jr. 18.1
Danai Lewis De La Salle 6-1 Sr. 15.5
Hannah Mouton Northwood-SH 5-5 Sr. 23.0
OUTSTANDING PLAYER: JADA RICHARD, LAFAYETTE CHRISTIAN
COACH OF THE YEAR: ERROL ROGERS, LAFAYETTE CHRISTIAN
Honorable mention — Christina Lambert, Tioga; Madison Lockwood, Tioga.
CLASS 5A BASKETBALL ALL-STATE CHARTS
BOYS
First Team
Player School Ht. Cl Avg.
Jeremiah Evans Southwood 6-10 Sr. 22.0
Aidan Anding Ruston 6-0 Jr. 14.8
Ahmad Hudson Ruston 6-7 Fr. 14.0
Howard Gaskins Jr. Liberty 6-3 Sr. 16.3
Allen Graves Ponchatoula 6-10 Sr. 20.8
Second Team
Player School Ht. Cl Avg.
Logan Smith Natchitoches Central 6-2 Sr. 18.0
Javonte Thomas Pineville 6-6 Sr. 13.0
Michael Sarver St. Paul’s 6-0 Sr. 23.6
Keith Jones Karr 6-4 Sr. 18.5
Jeremiah Lucas Bonnabel 6-3 Jr. 23.7
OUTSTANDING PLAYER: ALLEN GRAVES, PONCHATOULA
COACH OF THE YEAR: BRANDON WHITE, LIBERTY
Honorable mention — Jaylin Johnson, ASH.
GIRLS
Honorable mention — Thamerin Balthazar, ASH; Makayla Gallien, Natchitoches Central; Alyssa Chandler, Natchitoches Central; Zaccheya Jackson, Ruston; Jade Spikes, West Monroe; Markayla Williams, West Monroe.
JOURNAL SPORTS
BATON ROUGE – Angel Reese is winging away from LSU and into professional basketball.
Reese, one of the most colorful and at times controversial players in women’s college basketball history, announced Wednesday morning via a photo shoot in Vogue magazine and social media accounts that she will enter the 2024 WNBA Draft and turn professional.
The 21-year-old Maryland transfer became a two-time All-American and the 2023-24 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year for LSU. She was the catalyst for last season’s national championship team, with dynamic scoring and rebounding and a flair to her game and persona that earned her the nickname “Bayou Barbie.”
It has brought her a vast collection of high-profile endorsement deals in the rapidly emerging era of Name, Image and Likeness in college sports. Reese is a spokesperson for brands including Goldman Sachs, AirBnB, Reebok, Topps, Beats by Dre and others. Her NIL valuation is approaching $2 million.
LSU’s season ended Monday night with an NCAA Tournament Elite 8 loss to Iowa. She had told media she would quickly make an announcement whether she would return to LSU or turn pro, declaring for the WNBA Draft. That decision was already made, revealed the Vogue story, as her photo shoot to accompany the article was done in mid-March.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey praised Reese and indicated no surprise at the decision in a university press release.
“Angel transferred to LSU after my first season in Baton Rouge and she helped transform our program,” Mulkey said. “When she came here, she said she wanted to be here for two seasons and she has lived up to that. What a remarkable two years it has been.
“We are all indebted to Angel Reese for the contributions she has given to this program, helping us win our first national championship, and the contributions she made on our university as a whole. She not only helped grow our program but had an impact on growing the game of women’s basketball across the country.
“We wish her good luck as she moves to the WNBA and look forward to see all that she accomplishes. We will miss her but will always cherish the two years we got to spend with her.”
Reese had 61 double-doubles at LSU, trailing only Sylvia Fowles in school history. The Baltimore native had three separated streaks of at least 10 straight double-doubles and averaged 20.9 points and 14.4 rebounds as a Tiger. Reese became the first player since Wendy Scholtens from Vanderbilt in 1989 and 1990 to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding in consecutive seasons. Reese had seven games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds over the past two seasons.
Reese recorded a double-double in all 10 of the NCAA Tournament games she played as a Tiger, tying the NCAA Tournament record for consecutive double-doubles.
“I’m leaving college with everything I ever wanted,” Reese said on a video she posted on her X account. “A degree, a national championship and this platform I could have never imagined.
“This is for the girls who look like me that’s going to speak up in what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. To grow women’s sports and to have an impact on those coming next. This was a difficult decision, but I trust the next chapter because I know the author. Bayou Barbie out.”
Reese saw her brand skyrocket at LSU. She came to Baton Rouge with just about 70,000 instagram followers and now has 2.7-millions. She has appeared on numerous magazine covers including Sports Illustrated and Women’s Health. Reese won the 2023 ESPY for the Best Breakthrough Athlete, was named the 2023 BET Sportswoman of the Year and the 2023 Sporting News Athlete of the Year.
She had multiple viral moments such as the “Shoe Block” against Arkansas and a TikTok-style dance against Tennessee which helped her Bayou Barbie brand skyrocket, said LSU’s press release.
While WNBA salaries don’t approach NBA pay, most women in the league also play overseas, where they are compensated much better. Reese said she was “OK” with the challenge of going pro at the expense of comforts like charter air travel that LSU provided and is uncommon in the WNBA.
“I’ll be working with grown women,” Reese said. “I’ll be working with women that have kids, women that have a family to feed. I’m going to have to work my butt off every single day and grind. And who wouldn’t want that? I don’t want anything in my life to be easy.”
She expressed indifference at any criticism of her move.
“It was obviously a hard decision to make but it’s best for me my career and my family,” Reese said in a TikTok video. “Be happy for me, or don’t. I don’t care.”
By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – A month ago on March 3, LSU head baseball coach Jay Johnson couldn’t stop smiling. The then-No. 2 Tigers had just won four games in five days in Houston including capturing the Astros Classic with victories over Texas, UL-Lafayette and Texas State.
“I hope to coach for a long time, but I will remember this week for a long time,” said Johnson, whose team never trailed in any of the wins to improve the Tigers’ record to 11-1.
Since then, LSU is 9-9, falling to 20-10 overall with a 2-7 start SEC play. It has plummeted in the polls — to No. 5 after losing its first conference series at Mississippi State, then to No. 8 after losing its second conference series to Florida in Alex Box Stadium and now sitting at No. 18 after being swept in its third league series at No. 1 Arkansas last weekend.
If that wasn’t enough decline, there was also the April Fool’s Day joke of the Tigers’ sleepwalking through a 12-7 non-conference home loss Monday night to crosstown rival Southern.
“We have to get better at everything, you know, relative to competitiveness, concentration,” Johnson said after the loss in which LSU had just four hits and committed three errors.
And now, in the first week of April, LSU finds itself at a critical crossroads, desperately needing an SEC series win as it hosts No. 7 Vanderbilt (23-6, 6-3 SEC) in Game 1 today at 6 p.m.
Next weekend, LSU plays at No. 4 Tennessee, completing the first half of SEC play against five ranked teams including four currently in the D1baseball.com top 7 (No. 1 Arkansas, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 Florida and Vanderbilt).
LSU hasn’t lost its first four SEC series since 1969.
“This is a good group of guys and they care deeply and they want to get it right, both individually and collectively,” Johnson said of his team, which lost seven position starters, its three-man starting pitching rotation and its best reliever off last year’s national championship team. “And I think they will. I really do.
“It’s just not going to be easy. We’ve gone through a stretch where the teams on our conference schedule are all Omaha (College World Series) caliber. There’s very little margin for error, therefore, everything has to be done perfectly.”
LSU is on brink off falling over the cliff into a post-national title abyss like 2021 CWS winner Mississippi State did in its 26-30 (9 21 SEC) 2022 season or 2022 CWS winner Ole Miss did a year ago when it went 25-29 (6-24 SEC).
The Tigers offense is anemic in conference play ranking 13th in the 14-team SEC in batting average (.243), runs scored (42) and runs batted in (39). LSU leads the league in a dubious distinction: grounding into double plays (8).
The only LSU players in the top 10 in any major offensive stat category are shortstop Michael Braswell III (No. 1 in on-base percentage at .541) and third baseman Tommy White (tied for No. 3 in home runs at 5).
LSU’s pitching, which had a staff earned run average of 2.82 enroute to a 16-2 non-conference record, has an ERA in SEC play of 7.50. It leads the league with 53 walks issued.
The Tigers’ starting pitching rotation of Luke Holman and Gage Jump (3 SEC starts), Thatcher Hurd (2 SEC start) and Javen Coleman (1 start) have a combined league games-only ERA of 6.53.
The only shining hurler on the staff as of late has been reliever Griffin Herring, who’s third in conference action in ERA at 0.90.
“Something profound said in our (coaching) staff meeting after the (Southern game) was `If your best players play good, a lot of issues go away’,” Johnson said. “Frankly, we need our best players to play good if we’re going to beat any of these teams that are on our schedule.”
Johnson has battened down the concentration hatches to get his team is completely focused.
“There’s not going to be any cell phones running around that locker room or clubhouse for a very long time,” Johnson said of banning the use of cell phones. “I want everything that they have while they are there.”
Vanderbilt comes to Baton Rouge with a five-game win streak. The Commodores swept their season opening series at home vs. Auburn, then got swept at South Carolina and rebounded with a home sweep of Missouri.
In his 22nd season as Vanderbilt’s head coach, Tim Corbin said he changed his recruiting philosophy after watching LSU win the national title by buying transfers like national Pitcher of the Year Paul Skenes from the Air Force Academy and national RBI leader third baseman Tommy White from North Carolina State.
That duo teamed with returning junior centerfielder Dylan Crews, won the Golden Spikes Award as the best player in college baseball, to formal a lethal trio.
“The difference makers. . .those guys show up on campus and when they show up on campus, there’s a reason why their teams get to where they do,” Corbin said told The Tennessean newspaper before this season started. “Last year for LSU was Skenes and Crews.”
Last September, Vanderbilt’s entire baseball team signed an NIL deal with the Anchor Impact Fund, the university’s NIL collective, to ensure ensure all its players, and not just a handful, earn money.
No. 7 VANDERBILT (23-6, 6-3 SEC) at No. 18 LSU (20-10, 2-7 SEC)
Game 1: Thursday, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 2: Friday, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Game 3: Saturday, 6 p.m. (SEC Network)
No starting pitcher matchups for either team have been announced.
LSU-VANDERBILT SERIES
Vandy has won eight of the past 10 regular-season series between the schools. LSU swept three games from the Commodores when the teams last met on May 19-21, 2022, in Nashville. Vanderbilt posted a three-game sweep over the Tigers in the Commodores’ most recent visit to Baton Rouge in 2021.
A LOOK AT LSU
Junior right-hander Luke Holman is No. 1 in the SEC in ERA with a 1.38 mark, and he’s No. 2 in the league in strikeouts (61), innings pitched (39.0) and wins (5). Junior shortstop Michael Braswell III is hitting .438 (7-for-16) in LSU’s last five games, including .500 (5-for-10) in last weekend’s Arkansas series. He’s the Tigers’ top hitter in SEC games, batting .393 (11-for-28) with three doubles, two RBI and four runs.
A LOOK AT VANDERBILT
Vanderbilt is No. 5 in the SEC in team batting average (.300) with 66 doubles, eight triples, 29 homers and 59 steals in 66 attempts. Sophomore utility player RJ Austin is hitting a team-best .351 with five doubles, two homers, 29 RBI, 28 runs and 16 steals in 19 attempts. The Commodores are No. 3 in the SEC in team ERA (3.61).
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com
If you hunt or fish, you’ll find there are some activities that are more highly revered than others, at least they are by zealots of the sport. Take quail hunting, for example. While quail in our part of the country have basically gone the way of the Studebaker, there are those who still keep a brace of pointers and seek out those widely scattered pockets of cover that may hold a covey or two. Why? Because quail hunting is so special to them; they just can’t entertain thoughts that quail numbers continue to shrink.
Then there are the fly fishermen. The average angler heads for the lake or the creek bank armed with rods and reels, or a cane pole and bucket of worms. While some rod and reelers and cane polers have perfected their craft to a fine edge, the average fisherman just wants to catch supper, and the gear he selects is what he feels will allow him to do that most effectively.
Ah, but the fly fisherman is a far different creature. He’s probably more of a purist; a perfectionist, than any other sportsman. He talks in almost reverential tones of tippets and Royal Coachmen and such. He ties his own flies; builds his own rods. It’s as if the process of preparing to fly fish is an end in itself.
I once tried fly fishing, but I soon learned that I lack something in the “purist” category. I purchased my outfit years ago at the local discount store for $29.95. No, that was not the price of the fly line; that was the package price for rod, reel, line, leader and a box of flies. I took my purchase to a local pond where I’d located a bed of bluegills in the shallows. I managed to catch a few fish but I spent an inordinate amount of time getting my popping bug untangled from the myrtle bush behind me.
I also noticed a lack of dexterity when it came to making “the cast.” I almost threw out my shoulder trying to emulate the fly fishers I’d watched on TV. While they made it look so easy, I spent most of my fishing time tripping over line wrapped around my ankles and getting a half-hitch from around my ear.
While on a turkey hunting trip to South Dakota several years ago, I spent some time with Dick Leir, owner of Dakota Angler and Outfitter, and as he drove me alongside the sparkling-clear streams in the Black Hills, he talked about his favorite sport, fly fishing.
“Fly fishing can be frustrating, but once you get over the initial aggravation, it is a calming sport,” Leir explained. “There is an evolution that takes place in the life of a fly fisher. At first, his goal is to catch ‘a’ fish. Once he accomplishes this, he wants to catch a ‘lot’ of fish. Then he progresses to wanting to catch a ‘big’ fish; then a ‘lot of big’ fish. He arrives as a genuine fly fisher when his consuming desire is to catch ‘that’ fish.
“Fly fishing is unique in that it is one of the few do-it-yourself sports. Anglers get a lot of satisfaction from painstakingly building their own rods and becoming adept at tying their own flies. To catch ‘that’ fish on a rod you have built with a fly you have tied offers the utmost satisfaction,” said Leir.
According to Leir, trout fishermen don’t go to a stream with the purpose of catching fish to eat.
“The object is not to catch ‘supper.’ Wild trout are much too valuable for that. A legendary fly fisherman, the late Lee Wulfe once said, ‘a trout is too valuable a commodity to catch only once,’” recalled Leir.
While wild trout are the number one quarry of most fly fishers, practically any species of fish can be caught on a flyrod. We don’t have trout in Louisiana, but there are other fish that can provide great sport for the flyrodder. Bedded bluegills, like I attempted to catch, bass and crappie are all amenable to being caught on fly tackle.
As advanced age has caught up with me, I have laid aside my fly rod and casting rod and settled for a seat in a comfortable chair on the bank of a pond with bedded bluegills swirling the water just off shore. Skewering on a cricket and lobbing it into the mass of bream, I’m as happy as a fly fisherman wading a clear mountain stream for trout.
Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
April 2
Robert Kingan, 46, Pitkin — firearm with drugs, firearm possession by convicted felon, possession, tail lamps violation, $4,600 bail.
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
April 2
Juan Lechuga, 66, Forest Hill — aggravated battery, $10,000 bail;
Sharmane Sampson, 28, Alexandria — domestic abuse aggravated assault child endangerment, aggravated arson 7 counts, $40,000 bail;
Brooke White, 38, Alexandria — aggravated assault, $10,000 bail.
This date: 24 arrests, 9 of which included at least one contempt count.
Arrests are accusations, not convictions.
April 2
Kadarius Johnson, 33, Alexandria — possession with intent 2 counts, unlawful use/possession of body armor, $402,000 bail;
Stephanie Lachney, 50, Alexandria — possession 2 counts, contraband/penal facility, parole violation, $3,000 bail;
Chevelle Traylor, 56, Forest Hill — possession 3 counts, paraphernalia, probation violation, $15,500 bail;
Jeremy Williams, 30, Alexandria — possession with intent 2 counts, unlawful use/possession of body armor, $402,000 bail.
It is high drama mutiny at my house when I make any cookie other than traditional chocolate chip, but I managed to make these delicious little bites last week. This recipe is a great one for satisfying a chocolate/peanut butter/crunchy/cookie craving. It will cure any desire! And I love anything with Heath toffee bits in it. I use a small scoop for these so there are lots and lots to enjoy!
Ingredients:
Directions
Preheat oven or grill to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside. Using a mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Mix in peanut butter. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and toffee bits. Use a small scoop to drop onto baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes.
Ashley Madden Rowton is a wife, mom and published cookbook author who lives in Minden, La.
By JIM BUTLER
Pineville has notified residents of significant wastewater pretreatment violations by two system users over the past year.
According to the city, Eclectric Products on Willamette Road and Calvary Industries on Remount Drive did not meet BOD limits on several occasions.
Eclectric’s self-monitoring on three instances in first half of 2023 showed the chemical additives facility exceeded allowances.
Non-compliance discharge notices were subsequently followed by monitoring that showed the firm in compliance.
Calvary self-monitoring detected below-standard discharge in January and November.
Notices were issued and subsequent testing confirmed compliance at the industrial chemical plant.
The BOD measurement is vital for proper operation of the wastewater collection/treatment system.
The city’s notification mentions no penalties or fines in these instances.
By JIM BUTLER
The Alexandria City Council’s Finance Committee meets at 10 today and Thursday for review of the administration’s budget proposal for the year beginning May 1.
While details of Mayor Jacques Roy’s proposal have yet to be shared, or posted on the city’s website, he did in his March briefing session make reference to it.
He essentially said another year of fiscal uncertainty is ahead as the city, like local and state government everywhere, adjusts to operating with dwindling post-pandemic largesse.
And he noted the administration again proposes dipping into accrued fund balances to accomplish all that is proposed on the operating side.
By ordinance, the city is required to have a General Fund balance annually of 7 percent of total revenue.
Utility Fund transfer to the General Fund is similarly capped, at 5 percent of gross revenues.
Roy did note the proposal would include pay adjustments of 4.25 percent for employees outside the fire and police systems, which have separate pay plans.
The budget, including the five-year Capital Outlay projections, likely envisions use of about $250 million.
